MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Behind the screens of virtual simulators, sit Marines equipped not with M-4 semi-automatic rifles or M-203 grenade launchers, but a video game controller, designed to train the Marines of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, on countering improvised explosive devices Jan. 10 at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
"It's pretty close to our number one threat in Afghanistan," said 2nd Lt. Wesley Odell, platoon commander with Alpha Co., as he explained how essential it is for the Marines to master the methods used in the battle against IEDs.
1/23 has been at Camp Pendleton since Oct. 1, 2010, for intermediate location training in preperation for an upcoming deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Houston, Texas-based battalion is scheduled to deploy sometime in February.
The mobile, counter-IED interactive trainer allows Marines to experience a virtual two-vehicle convoy or play the role of insurgents attempting to disrupt U.S. forces in that particular convoy.
The objective of the notional Marines in the convoy is to successfully identify any explosives or vehicle-borne IEDs they encounter and to rappel insurgents attacks.
Marines portraying the insurgent must try to disrupt the convoy using small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and IEDs or vehicle borne IEDs.
"Everything in that trainer, is what's ( in Afghanistan), " said Gunnery Sgt. Hector Vegacigarroa, a platoon sergeant with Alpha Co., 1/23. "When the Marines play an insurgent, it allows them to think like an insurgent. It's like the game of chess, when they make a move, you counter it. Knowing both sides of the board gives us the advantage."
Different scenarios on the simulator offer a variety of training methods that keep the Marines on their toes.
Everything in the simulator can be modified, from the location of the IED to the type of explosive detonated to destroy the convoy.
"In training, we are dynamic and explosive," said Vegacigarroa from Houston. "In combat, we are calm and have self-control, thanks to our training."